


Guilty Or Not

by kinneyb



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: M/M, Unsub!Reid, unsub!morgan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-23
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-04-05 15:04:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4184355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinneyb/pseuds/kinneyb
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Morgan and Reid decide to take justice into their own hands, but at what cost?</p><p>(Inspired by a Morgan/Reid edit I saw with both of them as UNSUBs.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Guilty Or Not

One single question started it all.

"Is prison really enough?" Morgan had asked one evening while on the jet back home.

Reid glanced up from his book, marking his page with his finger. "What do you mean?"

They had just finished a fairly gruesome case. A man murdered five young girls - all blundered with a baseball bat. Thankfully they'd found him before there was a sixth victim but something was still nagging at Morgan despite it being an overall win (or as much as a win as it could be considering the circumstances).

"I mean, he killed five innocent people," Morgan muttered, staring out the window of the jet with furrowed brows. "And all he gets as punishment is some time in prison? That just doesn't seem fair." He looked away from the window with a huff, settling his gaze on the genius sitting across from him. 

Reid's tongue flickered out, dampening his chapped lips nervously. There was something unnerving about the look in Morgan's eyes but he couldn't quite place it. "I guess you're not entirely misled. Prison, for most people, isn't too bad as long as they don't make enemies within the prison, and if you're smart you won't."

For a long moment Morgan kept silent.

Reid was just about to say something when Morgan opened his mouth with a smack and he paused.

"Don't they deserve worse?"

Reid ran his fingers up and down the spine of his book slowly as he thought. The question resonated with him. It was almost like he'd thought it before himself. Maybe he had. He turned his head, glancing around the small jet. Everyone was asleep or distracted. Good.

He glanced back at the dark-skinned agent. "If you're asking if I think prison is a punishment that matches their doings, no."

Morgan cracked a smile and leaned back in his seat, relaxing into the leather. That was the doctor's way of saying yes.

\---

Reid thought about what Morgan had asked a lot but neither of them ever brought it up again... 

Until now.

His hands trembled around the gun he was holding, his finger loosely pressing against the trigger. The UNSUB was standing right in front of him and under his arm he was holding a child - a child of all people - as a hostage. Reid had tried talking him down but nothing was working. He was getting desperate.

"Please," he asked breathlessly, "let him go."

Just as the UNSUB lifted a knife to the victim's neck, Morgan came barreling through the same door Reid had minutes earlier, panting tiredly from running up the stairs. The second he saw the scene, he threw up his gun and pulled the trigger. Unlike Reid, there was no hesitation or talking him down. 

The gunshot rang out through the house and the victim ran past the two agents, colliding with Emily, who consoled him gently, running her hand through the boy's disheleved hair. Reid stared at the pair for a long moment before finally looking over at the agent who'd technically saved his life.

"I'm going to take him down to the ambulance," Emily mumbled before she began leading the child away.

Reid could barely hear her voice. The gunshot still echoed through his head.

Once she was gone, Reid moved over and dropped onto his knees, checking the UNSUB's pulse with his fingers. Nothing, he was gone. He jumped when he felt Morgan's hand on his shoulder. 

"Do you think he deserved going to prison?"

The question sparked something inside of Reid. He glanced up at Morgan with wide eyes. 

"Prison would've been too good for him. He deserved something more."

Reid chewed on his bottom lip and slowly looked back down at the UNSUB. His face was surprisingly peaceful and his body was limp, leaking blood from the one wound that had gone through his chest. Really, he merely looked like he had fallen asleep. An eternal sleep. Reid reached out, tentatively touching his face. He was becoming colder by the second. "By something more..." he pulled his hand back. "You mean death?"

He stood up, and Morgan helped him balance. He was still shaken by it all. "I guess so, yeah."

But even though Reid was trembling and nauseous, a part of him couldn't help agreeing with Morgan.

This man hadn't been human. He'd been nothing short of a monster. Prison would've been too easy on him.

\---

They didn't discuss it again until a few weeks later. Morgan invited him out for some coffee, which was becoming a usual routine for the pair. It'd been months now since they'd slowly started growing closer. Nowadays it wasn't uncommon for them to go out together after work.

Reid entered the cafe and nodded at the workers before spotting Morgan at their usual spot by the window. He sat down, slipping off his satchel and placing the bag in the chair next to him. 

"Hey," Morgan greeted, slipping a cup of coffee across the table. "Got you your usual."

The genius flashed a smile at both the gesture and the wonderful smell that was coming from the cup. He blew on the coffee for a second or two before taking a sip. Sugary coffee mixed with the smallest bit of caramel. Like Morgan had said, his usual and also his favorite 

"Spencer," Morgan started, voice low. "You know how we said some people deserve worse than prison?"

Surprised by the question, Reid set his cup back on the table and tilted his head, listening closely now. "... Yes."

Without saying a word, Morgan plopped a file on the table. Reid lifted a curious eyebrow. When Morgan still didn't say a word, he grabbed the folder and opened it. Pictures of a man stared back at him. He was old, white, bald. Reid glanced back at Morgan. "I don't get it."

"Just read," Morgan said with a wave of his hand.

Reid slowly nodded before reading the information on the man. He was wanted for three murders. All women. Raped and tortured for two days before finally being killed with a single gunshot wound to the head. Somehow it felt weird reading such gruesome stuff outside of work. He closed the folder. "I still don't understand."

"He hasn't been caught yet," Morgan muttered, tapping the folder with his finger, "but I think I know where he's hiding."

Hazel eyes flashed with a mix of confusion and worry. "Then we should tell everyone and - "

"No, we can't do that," Morgan sighed heavily, closing the folder before anyone could get a look at the information. He technically wasn't even authorized to have it. "If we do this like we usually do, he'll just end up going to prison and never really paying for what he did."

Reid glanced around the cafe. Once he was convinced nobody was listening, he settled his gaze back on Morgan with hardened eyes. "Are you suggesting we go after this man without help from the team?" Reid shook his head in disbelief. "And what will we do when if we find him?"

The dangerous look in Morgan's eyes answered for him. "We'll give him the punishment he deserves."


End file.
